Heat Brings on Special Garden Problems
By Jos Van Hage
Saturday, July 31, 2010 03:45 AM
The long weekend in August is the indicator that we are in the middle of summer, and by now the gardens are producing food and many of the flowers are in full bloom.
The hot temperatures have certainly helped things grow but they have also meant that watering is a necessity to keep plants healthy and producing. An important thing to remember when watering plants is to water deep and less often, which makes the plants roots go down in search of water thus making them need water less often. It is also better to water in the early morning or evening so that there is less evaporation so that you do not need as much water. When giving the plants water, try to water the soil rather than the foliage. This will help prevent mildew or fungus, as well as damaging the foliage from the sun and preserve water as the plants roots is where the water needs to be.
The recent hot, dry weather has been the perfect environment for spider mites and these are becoming a real problem. Spider mites are almost invisible but their damage is not. 
You usually don't realize there are spider mites until you notice the foliage turning brown, or dry and blotchy, or the leaves get yellow and brown spots and when you look closer you can see very fine webbing, most often found on the back of the leaf.
If you look very close or get a magnifying glass you can see very tiny mites that have 8 legs and look like tiny spiders. They are not easy to spot and if you want to check your plants, I suggest you get a clean piece of white paper and hold it under a branch and then give the branch a shake. Check the paper to see if there are tiny little mites on it. (You may need to wear your reading glasses or use a magnifying glass).Their favorite plants are cedar and spruce trees, and cucumber plants, but they like all plants and I have seen them on many different ones.
Spider mites increase very rapidly and will eventually kill the plant if they are not controlled. If they are on cedars it can cause the cedars to go into stress and the cedar will not be strong or healthy enough to survive the winter. On other plants such as cucumbers the plant will eventually dry up.
To get rid of spider mites on cedars apply the chemical 'Malathion' 3 times in 3 day intervals.
On cucumber plants something not as toxic should be used such as 'Insecticidal Soap'. This will have to be done more than once as you want to get rid of the eggs when they hatch as well.
You can try and help prevent the problem by spraying plants with water every day as spider mites do not like moist conditions.
Also spraying the foliage with 'Neem Oil' before the plant becomes infected could help as the mites do not like the taste of Neem oil, or spraying plants with Insecticidal soap weekly to kill any insects that may be on the plant before they become a real problem.
The key to successfully getting rid of spider mites is to get them as quickly as possible before they get the chance to spread so watch your plants very closely for any signs and then get rid of them immediately and isolate the infected plant from the other plants if possible.
-Jos
Jos Van Hage owns and operates two Art Knapp Home and Garden centres in Prince George:
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Hghway 16 West at Kimball Road,
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Highway 97 North at Northwood Pulpmill Road
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Posted by: Boudicca on July 31 2010 10:02 AM